Marco Zanuso

Italian architect and designer Marco Zanuso studied architecture at Milan Polytechnic. In 1945 he opened a practice in Milan and worked as an architect, urban planner and designer. Marco Zanuso is regarded as a leading thinker in postwar Italian design and has been editor of two of Italy's most influential magazines, Domus and Casabella. In 1948 Marco Zanuso experimented on foam latex as seat upholstery material for Pirelli. In the process he designed several pieces of furniture, which were made by Arflex. From 1958 until 1977, the German designer Richard Sapper worked in Marco Zanuso's practice and the two collaborated on extremely imaginative and original designs for furniture, lamps, and electrical appliances for a wide range of groups including Olivetti and Kartell. For Kartell, Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper designed the 4999/S stackable children's chair made of injection-molded polyurethane. Marco Zanuso's most important architectural projects include the Olivetti factory buildings in Buenos Aires and São Paulo, as well as IBM factory buildings in Segrate, Milan and Palomba.